Sir Winston Churchill

The First World War has had a lasting impact not just on the history of our nation but on Europe and the entire world. All sides suffered huge losses both financially and in terms of casualties. This year marks the 100th Anniversary of WWI, the largest and most important commemoration of our generation. In Britain alone, a series of special events, exhibitions and performances is taking place throughout the UK in 2014. On 4th August, a candlelit vigil is being held at Westminster Abbey ending at 11pm, the exact moment Britain declared war on Germany. London’s Imperial War Museum is displaying the largest collection of WWI memorabilia while the National Memorial Arboretum, the country’s national site of remembrance, is also hosting a number of events during the course of the year.

One of the most famous battles of World War II, the 1940 Battle of Britain was an air campaign which saw Britain’s air forces take on the might of the German Luftwaffe. A key point of the war resulting in heavy losses on both sides, it saw the RAF successfully reclaim the skies above Britain’s cities which were being destroyed by night-time bombing raids. It wasn’t however until June 6th 1944 that the Allied forces launched their biggest offensive yet to finally overthrow Hitler’s army and free Europe from Nazi Germany. In one of the largest military operations ever undertaken, thousands of Allied troops stormed a 50-mile stretch of French coastline and landed on the beaches of Normandy. By 1945, the German army was defeated. D-Day marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War.

Arguably the most famous and influential Briton in history, Sir Winston Churchill is widely regarded as the greatest wartime leader of the 20th Century. Born into an aristocratic family on November 30th 1874 at Oxfordshire’s Blenheim Palace, he first became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1940, the year after war broke out. His famous ‘V’ for ‘Victory’ symbol and series of rousing speeches helped to lift the spirits of a nation during WWII. Just over a week after suffering a severe stroke, Churchill died on January 24th 1965, exactly 70 years to the day after his father's death, aged 90. He was given a full state funeral and buried, at his own request, in the family plot at St Martin’s Church in Bladon, Woodstock, near to his place of birth. It will be the 50th Anniversary of his death in 2015.